Mashing Bananas

Well I have been trying these past two days to wake up earlier so as to have a few moments with a cup of coffee and the Word before Little One wakes up.  Yesterday, somehow my 6:30 wake up turned into a 7:19 wake up.  And this morning, Tirzah started peeping at 6:28, just moments before the alarm.  Most mornings I wake up with Daniel and see him out the door at 5... perhaps I will have to make that my new wake up time if I want to get a fresh and quiet start to my day!  I do have the blessing of these quiet moments when she is sleeping soundly during her naps.  But there is just something about curling up and welcoming the dawn in a quiet, peaceful sort of way.

Singing good morning to Tirzah at 6:50, we began our day with the normal nursing breakfast.  And then... we shared a banana!! Yesterday afternoon Daniel and I fed her a little bit of banana, using the spoon Great Grandmom gave her (it was "Papa's" or Greg's spoon too!).  This morning we mashed it up together, Tirzah sitting so lady-like on the floor next to me in her pink pajamas.  And she liked it!  Her first real helping of solid food!  Well then we had to run an errand up to the Winn-Dixie to return an item.  In exchange, we bought her first groceries: Organic Rice Cereal.  I about cried in the aisle.  So many of you have told me: "They grow so fast!"  I think I got a realization of that this morning in Aisle 8.

I just whipped up my first batch of Chocolate Espresso Bread dough from the book Renee gave us.  From the looks of the dough, this might have to be a weekly treat at the Shear household.  I am going to make muffins with it tomorrow morning in preparation for some company calls throughout the day.  If all goes well, in the future I might use the muffins as little house-warming gifts.  I think the muffins would look beautiful in little treat bags tied up with the beloved raffia.  We'll just have to see!

Later today I am going to bake one of Daniel's favorite treats: Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies.  Here's the recipe if you would like to try:

Oven to 375

3/4 C shortening

3/4 C sugar

3/4 C brown sugar

2 eggs

2 t vanilla

Beat shortening and sugars until creamy.  Add the eggs and vanilla.

Combine and add into the sugar mixture:

1 C flour

1 t soda

2 t cinnamon

1/4 t salt

Stir in:

2 3/4 C oats

1 C dried cranberries

1 C chopped walnuts

Drop onto baking sheets and bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown